Call METI for a rewrite

I saw yet another fabulous commercial from the amakudari quasi-governmental sector this morning. I only saw it out of the corner of my eye, so I did not catch the entire engrossing drama.

A father and son are out playing in a grassy area behind a levee. In a heartstring-yanking metaphorical demonstration the marvels of technology, the father tells his son, “Now watch this!” and uncorks a mighty throw.

The scene then shifted to a friendly graphic of the nuclear fuel cycle, starring our pal from the lower boroughs of the periodic table, Perky Plutonium, in his brand new and friendly disguise, MOXy Mixed Oxygen Fuel.

We are then switched back to the levee, where the father makes a stirring catch.

The utterly unfraught piece of sports equipment the father uses to illustrate the utterly great benefits of the nuclear fuel cycle?

The boomerang.

The desperate wail you may have just heard was the sound of irony dying.

(Come on here people. "Bumeran koka" is in the damn dictionary!)

Irony may indeed not be dead, however, just resting. One irritated Japanese blogger suggests that in order to depict the reality behind reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, the commercial should be interspliced with the infamous "I'll catch it!" boomerang scene from The Road Warrior.

おとうさん！ブーメラン効果を気を付けて！